The bee simile is a prominent figure in Virgil’s Aeneid, appearing first in Book I, and then later in Book VI. The careful arrangement and placement of the similes in the text implies that Virgil considered them to be highly significant to the understanding of his work. Each allusion to bee imagery in the Aeneid provides insight into what Virgil views as the perfect society - a diligent, patriotic, well-organized, dutiful community of likeminded individuals working towards a singular, noble end. Through his use of the bee similes, Virgil emphasizes the importance of the collective over the individual, the theme of rebirth, and the eventual rise of Rome.
The first bee simile appears during Aeneas’ initial impression of the lively city of Carthage. The citizens of which are hard at work, engaged in a variety of tasks to improve the quality of the city. Virgil notes this, characterizing their labor as “feverish” (I,423). Virgil’s
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word choice suggests that, despite their frenzied pace, orderliness and the distribution of responsibility were integral in Carthaginian society. Each person has their role that relates to the overall well being and function of the city. The simile relates the scene to that of a beehive: “Like bees in spring across the blossoming land, / Busy beneath the sun, leading their offspring, / Full grown now, from the hive, or load cells / Until they swell with honey and sweet nectar, / Or taking shipments in, or lining up / To guard the fodder from the lazy drones; / The teeming work breathes thyme and fragrant honey.” (I,430-6) Virgil assigns his subjects with human attributes and morals such as, laziness and busyness. He also makes reference to spring, the season of renewal and rebirth. Just as Aeneas seeks to accomplish for his fellow Trojans, Dido and her people have rebuilt their lives in “newborn Carthage” (I,366). Yet, renewal is only a subtheme in this simile, unfolded more fully in Book VI. The main focus of the simile is upon the single-minded dedication of the people to their task, exalting the enthusiasm and unison with which they work. Virgil highlights the importance of the work itself over the individual workers, placing the emphasis firmly on the good of the community. During Aeneas’ journey to the underworld in Book VI, he compares the incorporeal souls in Elysium to that of bees.
As the souls await reincarnation, they resemble “bees in tranquil summer meadows / Who move from bud to vivid bud and stream / Around white lilies--the whole field whirs loudly” (VI,707-9). Much like his reaction to the bustle of Carthage, Aeneas is “enthralled” by the scene (VI,710). However, the aimless group of souls sharply contrasts with the organized, dedicated citizens of Carthage. Without a purpose or leader guiding them, the souls simply “whir” aimlessly awaiting rebirth. Perhaps this lack of purpose provides an answer to Aeneas’ inquiry as to why these souls wish to return to the land of the living (IV,719-20). Just as bees cannot prosper without belonging to a hive, the souls of men demand they be a part of an enterprising, organized community. Thus, Virgil concludes that men long for the kind of organized society bees have, strengthening his contention that individuals find purpose in belonging to the
collective. Virgil’s comparison of the souls serves to strongly emphasize renewal, rebirth, and the future founding of Rome. Virgil recognizes that although the individual will cease to exist, the legacy of the society will persist. In a never-ending cycle, the hive is born-again as the new generation rises to replace the old. Thus, Virgil explains the subtle emphasis on renewal in the first simile through the more overt usage in the second. To Virgil, the life of the individual is ultimately irrelevant because only the society lasts. The aimless souls of the underworld demonstrate this concept as they anxiously await an opportunity to return to the world above and contribute to the future Roman Empire (VI,717). Through his bee similes, Virgil lays bare the principles of his ideal society, strongly emphasizing the concerns of the leader and the collective over those of the individual. Virgil also develops a level of symbolism in his similes by stressing the bees’ connection to the themes of renewal and rebirth. Virgil concludes that each individual should contribute all he can muster to the future, for happiness and immortality stem from self-sacrifice for the good of the community.
In The Aeneid there are rich implemented principles such as fate, discipline, and competition which greatly influenced the Roman empire causing it’s rise from obedience to the principles as well as it’s fall from disobedience. Virgil lived during the dawn of the rising sRoman empire, and his book was a catalyst to the greatness that grew within the nation. The Aeneid focused around the principle that fate’s power and dominance overrule human life, which in turn would bring indolence or proactivity depending on the individual’s capacity. Although fate can easily be ripped down as a belief it did many great things for the Romans whether it is real or not. Unfortunately the themes of deceit and trickery also crept into the book’s contents, which
Though easier to consider The Aeneid as a work which clearly defines the roles of man and woman, with men upholding traits of stability, rationality, and containment of oneself, with the women acting irrational and without jurisdiction, this is not quite the case. Gender is not quite the cookie cutter structure one is accustomed to, instead it acts as a much more complicated force within the interactions of the characters. The masculine and feminine become combined within individuals, blended to the point where perhaps sometimes understanding a character is far more complicated than knowing whether it is a 'he' or 'she'.
A twenty-first century reading of the Iliad and the Odyssey will highlight a seeming lack of justice: hundreds of men die because of an adulteress, the most honorable characters are killed, the cowards survive, and everyone eventually goes to hell. Due to the difference in the time period, culture, prominent religions and values, the modern idea of justice is much different than that of Greece around 750 B.C. The idea of justice in Virgil’s the Aeneid is easier for us to recognize. As in our own culture, “justice” in the epic is based on a system of punishment for wrongs and rewards for honorable acts. Time and time again, Virgil provides his readers with examples of justice in the lives of his characters. Interestingly, the meaning of justice in the Aeneid transforms when applied to Fate and the actions of the gods. Unlike our modern (American) idea of blind, immutable Justice, the meanings and effects of justice shift, depending on whether its subject is mortal or immortal.
While the Aeneid does outline the future of Rome, it also highlights the pains of war, and also exposes his audience to a culture of violence, which they may be unfamiliar with. The act of balancing one’s duty towards others and his or her personal desires was a conflict that many people struggled with. By presenting the struggle between balancing inner desires and and personal responsibilities, Virgil offers his audience a framework that enhances their overall understanding of the poem.
For a year, Aeneas delayed his destiny and departure to Italy by settling down with queen Dido in Carthage. The gods deliver a message to Aeneas and to his dismay he must leave “the land of his love” and resume his destiny (Aen. 4.). Though his parting from Dido is emotional, and he leaves her broken and suicidal, Aeneas remains level-headed and strong-willed, a noble quality known as gravitas to the Romans. By Aeneas having to leave Dido, he is overcoming a very emotional obstacle; he is leaving despite a chance of stability and love, the first since the death of his wife.
...te literary Trojan Horse. As the representative work of the entire Western civilization, his work is guaranteed wide dissemination. However, the ambivalence of his literary conventions often traps the unwitting reader and forces him or her to confront the violent undercurrents of Pax Romana. In essence, More and Virgil speak to the dangers of imposing a normative national identity that actually becomes the flipside of a violent imperialist project. More importantly, they open up space for dissent by critiquing the seemingly impenetrable state system from the inside and thus exposing its inherent contradictions precariously built on a foundation of violence.
The need of a proper burial in the underworld is essential in attaining some feelings of gratification for carrying out duty to his people and country. Aeneas can now realize what it means to be "Roman" and carry out his duties as destiny prescribed to avoid the chance of an overlooked and proper burial. Virgil uses Aeneas to personify the spirit of the Roman Empire by encompassing the scope of both Iliad and Odyssey. By allowing the underworld to open many aspects of Greek history, Aeneas is able to understand the importance of his family values, striving to fulfill his duty, or his mission, even though Dido almost prevented it. Because of the underworld, he has gained compassion for his lost men by always thinking about the welfare of his people.
Odysseus’ journey is one that features much emotional pain. Pain for being away from his home, wife and son, but in Aeneas’ journey he is a warrior, and he goes through physical pain. Unlike Odysseus, Aeneas begins his journey after the Greeks have burned his home to the ground. He does not have the pleasure of long comfortable “holdups” Odysseus has and he also has to deal with his father dying—the ultimate blow.
It is clear when reading the Aeneid that Virgil was familiar with the earlier works of Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Virgil, more than just being aware of these earlier works, uses themes and ideas from these poems in his own. Far more than just copying scenes and ideas, Virgil expands and alters these themes to better tell his story, unique from the Greek originals he is drawing from. Virgil reveals what qualities he regards as heroic through the juxtaposition of Aeneas’ character and the negative aspects of the underworld. By looking at which qualities are esteemed and derided respectively, we can identify the qualities that Virgil would like to emphasize positively to his readers. Also, we can argue that Virgil is indeed trying to convey a particular set or morals to those readers. Beyond the underworld, it is possible to clearly identify these traits in the other sections of the poem where Virgil is borrowing and making his own alterations. Using these distinctions we can very clearly derive Virgil's morality from the poem, and see where Virgil's ideal characters veer away from the Greek ideal that came before.
Virgil’s The Aeneid and the historical figures Antony and Cleopatra are parallel love stories with striking similarities individuated by inverse denouements. Virgil wrote The Aeneid as a tribute for Augustus Caesar, the leader of the Roman Empire and and integral figure in the story of Antony and Cleopatra. The Aeneid’s lovers Dido and Aeneas parallel the true tale of Antony and Cleopatra with the common theme of a heroic man duty-bound to his state torn between responsibility to his nation and amorous devotion to a passionate, beautiful foreign queen. Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid, contains a brief romance between the central character Aeneas and the queen of Carthage, Dido. Though only lasting through part of the epic is the famous romance of this tale. While Cleopatra and Antony were less mystical in their relations both couples were stories of star-crossed lovers that despite their political complications found solace and joy in their relations with each other before meeting untimely ends.
In addition, the overall theme of the poem highlighted morality, which was a definitive tenet of Greco Roman civilization. In many ways, Virgil wrote the poem as a means of lauding the moral virtues of Roman society and as a personal challenge to outdo Homer’s epic compositions, The Illiad and The Odyssey. Virgil was successful because he had incorporated many of the same tales shared in the works of Homer into one epic poem which presented a linear storyline in the books that detailed the life and times of Aeneas and the Trojans. That being said, Virgil did not stray far from the approach that many writers had used before him; his primary focus throughout the Aeneid was placed squarely upon the back of idealized Greek and Roman moral principles, which were the dedication to ones’ honor, family, and country. By no means is there anything wrong with this approach, but in many ways, the entire poem could be viewed as a “propaganda” piece; while it might have served to enlighten, educate, and create a cohesive and uplifting story for the Roman populace, the poem lacked depth and a more profound exploration of human intricacies. While Virgil’s epic poem has stood the test of time and remains one of the greatest pieces
When discussing the fate of Aeneas, a thought provoking question is posed that is commonly debated. If Aeneas is commanded by fate, does he have free will? It is important to approach this question with a solid understand of fate. There are two common sides to the debate of whether Aeneas had free will or not. One view believes Aeneas had no choice but to follow his destiny because he was commanded by fate, and prophesied to found the race that will one day build Rome. The other side states Aeneas did indeed have free will, and even though his fate was set, room is available within his fate for events to change. One can argue Aeneas makes some of his own choices, but no particular detail of his life is untouched. Destiny determines that the Trojans will found a city in Italy, but it does not stipulate how that will happen. This is where room is left for free will. After much research and considering the views of many commentators and the proof they showed, the answer can simply be found by going back to the text of The Aeneid.
A comparison between Virgil's hero, Aeneas, and the Homeric heroes, Achilles and Odysseus, brings up the question concerning the relevance of the difference between the Homeric heroes and Aeneas. The differences in the poets' concerns are explained by the fact that Virgil lived many years after Homer, giving Virgil the advantage of a more developed literary and philosophical society than Homer had at his disposal. But the question remains: how are the differences between the Homeric heroes and Aeneas relevant to the epic at large? This question will be answered by first pointing out the differences between Greek and Roman society, then explaining how those differences relate to the heroes of the three epics at hand, and finally explaining how these differences allow Virgil to portray the Roman values and way of life as more structured and oriented towards a greater-good.
Virgil’s enlightened language spawns partially from Beatrice, a divine inhabitant of heaven, who worries about the well-being of the pilgrim, and partially from his status in a long tradition of famous poets, beginning with Homer. Yet, despite Virgil’s association with enlightened and elevated ...
The Odyssey portrays the victor, the mighty Odysseus. His story is about a man who has everything, a loving and loyal wife, an ambitious son, a devoted kingdom, and most of all a victory. By the end of Odysseus’ story he has an ideal life. On the other hand, The Aeneid is told through the eyes of a defeated soldier. Early on in the epic Aeneas has a comfortable life. It seems as though he is happy and complancent with his life in Carthage with Dido. Aeneas chooses to leave this life behind in order to fulfill his destiny. The Trojans were defeated in the war, however, Aeneas perceivers and fights for the future of his people. Through Aeneas’ story, Virgil demonstrates the resilience of the Roman culture; he shows just how much they value a sense of